Looking for recipes for the foods in season in Ontario? This is the place! I aim to hit 80% local produce in my recipes. Find also notes about my experiences as an organic vegetable and fruit gardener and breeder, and visits to growers, processors and vendors of all kinds of good foods of Ontario.

Wednesday, 28 August 2013

Minty Watermelon Agua Fresca

So how long have I had this blog? Six years, isn't it? And this is my first melon recipe, if you can even call this a recipe. But that's the thing about melons, both watermelons and the other kind - it isn't that I don't love them, and eat them, but they are so good just as they are, that they never end up in anything fancier than an ad hoc fruit salad.

Well, not quite never, because I just did this. Perhaps I will have a few more recipes too, since I grew a ridiculous quantity of melons this year and the results are starting to roll into the kitchen. So far it's mostly been melon for breakfast everyday, but I'm going to have to get a bit more creative to use them up. Although this was very good, and will take care of quite a few.

Taste your melon before you measure your sugar. I put in 2 tablespoons sugar because this was a little Golden Midget watermelon, and as such not very sweet. A really sweet, fine melon will need next to none, just a little to counterbalance the lime juice. I suspect your average watermelon will be fine with about 1 tablespoon of sugar.

2 servings15 minutes prep time

2 spigs of fresh mint
1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons sugar
the juice of 1/2 a large lime
2/3 cup water OR 6 to 8 small ice cubes
3 cups chopped deseeded watermelon

Rinse the mint and pat it dry, and put it in the bowl of a blender. Add the sugar and blend until the mint is finely chopped. Add the lime juice and water or ice cubes and blend again, until the ice is completely crushed if you are using ice.

Scoop the watermelon from the rind, removing all seeds as you go. Add it to the food processor, and blend until fairly smooth. Serve garnished with mint sprigs, if you like.

Ellen, you can follow through Blogger, but you are right; I should set up something directly on the blog. I have a lot of housekeeping to do but it won't happen while the garden is so busy. Hopefully this fall I will be able to do a bit of an overhaul. Sorry about that.